Langadinos v. American Airlines, Inc.
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
199 F.3d 68 (2000)
Langadinos (plaintiff) was assaulted by a fellow passenger, Debord, aboard an American Airlines (defendant) flight, and sued claiming flight attendants' continued alcohol service to the visibly intoxicated, aggressive Debord played a causal role in the assault; the complaint was based on Langadinos's information and belief rather than personal knowledge of what attendants actually observed. The district court dismissed for failure to state a claim under Rule 12(b)(6), reasoning the complaint didn't explain how attendants would have known of Debord's intoxication, and Langadinos appealed.
Whether a federal court may dismiss a suit for failure to state a claim only if it clearly appears, according to the facts alleged, that the plaintiff cannot recover on any viable theory.